Past Year Review: Schedule Positives, Avoid Negatives
TL;DR
- Conducting a "Past Year Review" (PYR) offers more actionable insights than traditional New Year's resolutions by analyzing past emotional triggers to inform future decisions.
- The PYR method leverages an 80/20 analysis of calendar entries to identify the 20% of activities and commitments yielding the most significant positive or negative emotional impact.
- Scheduling identified positive activities and commitments on the calendar is crucial, as uncommitted positive experiences are often displaced by less impactful obligations.
- Creating a "not-to-do" list from negative emotional triggers proactively prevents time and energy from being consumed by known sources of stress and unhappiness.
- The PYR process, requiring only 30-60 minutes, provides a structured framework for intentional living by explicitly defining what to pursue and what to avoid.
Deep Dive
Instead of traditional New Year's resolutions, a "Past Year Review" (PYR) offers a more informed and actionable approach to personal growth. This method, taking only 30-60 minutes, involves reviewing the previous year's calendar to identify activities and people that triggered significant positive or negative emotions, thereby enabling proactive scheduling of beneficial experiences and avoidance of detrimental ones.
The PYR process begins by dividing a notepad into two columns: positive and negative. By examining the past year's calendar week by week, individuals list people, activities, or commitments that elicited strong emotional responses, categorizing them accordingly. The subsequent step is to apply an 80/20 analysis to both lists, identifying the 20% of inputs that generated the most powerful positive or negative outcomes. Based on this analysis, the positive drivers are then explicitly scheduled into the upcoming year, as commitment is key to actualization; conversely, the negative drivers form a "not-to-do" list, serving as a daily reminder to avoid obligations, guilt, or FOMO that lead to unhappiness or stress. Crucially, simply eliminating negatives is insufficient, as this creates a void that can be filled by external influences; therefore, actively scheduling positive experiences is paramount to ensure a fulfilling year, preventing the calendar from being dictated by others or by less impactful activities.
The core implication of the PYR method is that proactive self-management, informed by past experiences, is more effective than reactive goal-setting. By understanding precisely what nourishes and what drains one's energy, individuals can systematically cultivate a life that aligns with their well-being, rather than passively accepting a schedule filled with obligations or distractions. This approach ensures that meaningful activities are prioritized and detrimental influences are systematically excluded, leading to a more intentional and rewarding year.
Action Items
- Create two-column notepad: List 5-10 positive and negative triggers from last year's calendar.
- Analyze 20% of triggers: Identify which 20% of positive and negative items yielded the most impact.
- Schedule 3-5 positive activities: Commit to repeating high-impact positive experiences in the new year.
- Draft not-to-do list: Document 3-5 recurring negative triggers to actively avoid in the new year.
Key Quotes
"I have found that something I call past year reviews, or PYR, to be more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward with broad resolutions for the next year."
Tim Ferriss explains that he has shifted from traditional New Year's resolutions to a "past year review" (PYR) process. Ferriss finds this retrospective approach to be more practical and insightful than setting general goals for the future.
"Completing a past year review takes just 30 to 60 minutes, and it looks something like this. Step number one, grab a notepad and create two columns on a piece of paper. Positive and negative. Just a line right down the middle, positive on one side, negative on the other."
Tim Ferriss outlines the initial step of his Past Year Review (PYR) process, emphasizing its brevity and simplicity. Ferriss suggests creating a two-column list to categorize experiences from the past year into positive and negative emotions.
"So you're doing an 80/20 analysis then of each of these columns that you'll have, positive and negative, to try to identify what is really producing disproportionately the most benefits and the most stress or negativity or, well, let's just call it challenging emotions, perhaps, if you want to put it that way."
Tim Ferriss describes the analytical phase of the Past Year Review (PYR), where he applies an 80/20 principle. Ferriss uses this analysis to pinpoint the specific activities or people that yield the most significant positive outcomes or negative experiences.
"Then step five, based on the answers, take your positive leaders and schedule more of them in the new year. You've got to get them on the calendar now. That's my experience. Book things with friends, prepay for activities, events, commitments that you know work for you."
Tim Ferriss details the actionable outcome of the Past Year Review (PYR) regarding positive experiences. Ferriss stresses the importance of actively scheduling these beneficial activities and commitments to ensure they occur in the upcoming year.
"Step number two is to take your negative leaders and create a not-to-do list. At the top, right? So circle those things, put them somewhere that you can see them each morning for the first few weeks of 2022, in this case. Although it certainly can be used for any year. These are the people and things you know make you miserable or unhappy or stressed out."
Tim Ferriss explains the second key action derived from the Past Year Review (PYR), focusing on avoiding negative influences. Ferriss advises creating a "not-to-do" list from the identified negative triggers to consciously steer clear of them.
"So you've got to decide your schedule in advance, be proactive, or it will be decided for you. And if you want to see the instructions in written form for the past year review, just go to Tim.blog/pyr."
Tim Ferriss concludes by emphasizing the necessity of proactive scheduling to control one's time and experiences. Ferriss provides a resource for those who wish to access written instructions for conducting their own Past Year Review (PYR).
Resources
External Resources
Books
- Coyote by Tim Ferriss - Mentioned as a best-selling card game that won multiple awards.
Websites & Online Resources
- Coyote game.com - Website to find retailers for the game Coyote.
- Tim.blog/pyr - Website for written instructions on the past year review process.
- Tim.blog/Friday - Website to sign up for the Five Bullet Friday newsletter.
Other Resources
- Past Year Review (PYR) - A method for evaluating the previous year to inform future planning, involving categorizing activities and commitments into positive and negative columns and conducting an 80/20 analysis.
- Five Bullet Friday - A short, weekly newsletter sharing interesting discoveries and content.